The Rise Fund Invests in Dodla Dairy Limited

TPG’s global impact fund invests in leading Indian dairy company

Partnership will aim to promote sustainable farming practices across
India

May 03, 2017 04:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time

HYDERABAD, India & SAN FRANCISCO & FORT WORTH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Rise Fund, a global fund committed to achieving measureable,
positive social and environmental outcomes alongside competitive
financial returns, today announced it has agreed to invest $50M in Dodla
Dairy Limited (Dodla), a fresh dairy product company offering a wide
range of milk products throughout South India. The investment in Dodla,
which is subject to regulatory approval, will be The Rise Fund’s first
in the food and agriculture sector, as well as its first in India. The
Rise Fund is managed by TPG Growth, the growth equity and middle market
buyout fund of global alternative asset firm TPG. The Rise Fund focuses
on investments in seven sectors: education, energy, food and
agriculture, financial services, growth infrastructure, healthcare, and
technology, media, and telecommunications. Each sector is managed by a
sector lead who works closely with the investing teams. Joy Basu leads
The Rise Fund’s Food and Agriculture Sector Team.

Founded in 1995 by D. Sesha Reddy and D. Sunil Reddy, Dodla procures and
processes fresh milk to sell high-quality dairy products across 66
regions in South India. In addition to its core product, fresh packaged
liquid milk, Dodla’s offerings include popular foods such as curd,
butter, and ghee. Working with more than 3,000 distributors across 9
states, Dodla’s products are sold by more than 50,000 retail outlets
across the country.

Due to the high perishability of dairy products, nearly all of Dodla’s
milk is procured locally from smallholder farmers. Dodla’s partnership
with farmers and local distribution networks drive the company’s
business strategy and social impact. Dodla sources milk from 250,000
farmers across 7,000 villages every day of the year. The Rise Fund seeks
to support the company in operating its procurement network fairly,
transparently, and efficiently—supporting farmers’ needs, as well as
bolstering the company’s success. For instance, the company has created
a farmer engagement program that helps many of its supplying farmers
gain access to critical inputs, such as affordable animal feed and
veterinary services. Moreover, working with regional banks, Dodla has
helped more than 2,300 farmers secure financing to invest in their
production capabilities.

“India has more dairy farmers than any other country, and is the world’s
largest and fastest-growing producer of milk. Yet many of the small
farmers who produce that milk do not have access to the basic tools and
networks necessary to sustainably and reliably generate profits. As a
result, most of India’s smallholders are only earning a few dollars a
day, surviving on the brink of poverty,” said Bill McGlashan, TPG Growth
Founder and Managing Partner and Co-Founder and CEO of The Rise Fund.
“Investments that facilitate stronger and more efficient market links in
this food value chain can help to significantly reduce rural poverty.
With its conscientiously designed procurement strategy, Dodla is helping
to meet this important need.”

“Our procurement strategy—working closely with thousands of local
farmers to bring our product to market—has helped us not only reach our
leading position in the marketplace, but also positively impact our
local communities,” said Sunil Reddy, Founder of Dodla. “We feel proud
and fortunate to put forward a high-quality product that also helps our
suppliers thrive. We are excited to partner with The Rise Fund to extend
our reach and accelerate our growth.”

“India’s dairy consumption has been experiencing robust growth, fueled
by urbanization, increasing incomes, and health consciousness among
consumers,” said Vish Narain, Partner at TPG Growth. “Dodla is
well-positioned to capitalize on these growth trends. It has a strong
management team, an established presence in local markets, and an
expanding selection of products. We look forward to working with Dodla
to enhance its brand and grow its platform.”

TPG has been investing in India since 2002. TPG Growth’s other recent
investments in India include Cancer Treatment Services International, an
emerging end-to-end provider of cancer treatment services; Lenskart, an
online business that markets and sells optical products, watches, and
bags; and Rhea Healthcare, which operates a network of mother and child
care centers in India under the ‘Motherhood’ brand. In 2014, TPG Capital
Asia invested in Janalakshmi Financial Services, India’s largest
microfinance institution.

About Dodla Dairy

Dodla Dairy Limited is a leading dairy company headquartered in
Hyderabad, India. The company procures, processes, and sells dairy
products, including fresh milk, butter, ghee, paneer, curd, flavored
milk, doodh peda, ice cream, and skimmed milk powder across 66 regions
in South India. Dodla was co-founded by D. Sesha Reddy and D. Sunil
Reddy in 1995.

About The Rise Fund

The Rise Fund is a global fund committed to achieving measureable,
positive social and environmental outcomes alongside competitive
financial returns—what we call “complete returns.” The Rise Fund is
managed by TPG Growth, the global growth equity and middle market buyout
platform of alternative asset firm TPG. TPG Growth Founder and Managing
Partner Bill McGlashan, U2 lead singer Bono, a well-known activist and a
special partner with TPG Growth, and Jeff Skoll, a global entrepreneur,
film producer, and impact investor, co-founded The Rise Fund. They were
joined by a group of influential thought leaders with a deep personal
and professional commitment to driving social and environmental
progress, who came together to form the Founders Board. The Rise Fund’s
objectives align with the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals. The Rise
Fund invests in education, energy, food and agriculture, financial
services, growth infrastructure, healthcare, and technology, media, and
telecommunications companies that deliver complete returns.

About TPG Growth

TPG Growth is the global growth equity and middle market buyout platform
of alternative asset firm TPG. With over $8.3 billion of assets under
management, TPG Growth targets investments in a broad range of
industries and geographies. TPG Growth has the deep sector knowledge,
operational resources, and global experience to drive value creation,
and help companies reach their full potential. The firm is backed by the
resources of TPG, which has approximately $72 billion of assets under
management. TPG Growth's current and past investments include Airbnb,
Domo, e.l.f. Cosmetics, Lenskart, Noodle Analytics, SurveyMonkey, and
Uber. TPG Growth’s other investments in India include AGS Transact
Technologies, Flexituff, and Sutures India Pvt Ltd. For more
information, visit www.tpg.com.